The present invention relates to a composition containing alkali carbonate peroxyhydrates and alkali hydrogen carbonates as well as the use of this composition for combating thread algae, germs and parasites in waters and sediments and on surfaces, and the use of alkali hydrogen carbonates for stabilizing alkali carbonate peroxyhydrates.
In aquariums as well as garden ponds thread algae are a type of algae that often turns into a plague. With regard to classification the thread algae belong to lower plants and are assigned to the class of green algae (Chlorophyta). A majority of known green algae species is indigenous to freshwater. Species of the genera Ulothrix, Spirogyra and Cladophora present regularly a great problem for many garden pond owners in the spring and summer when these algae species as a result of mass multiplication form a carpet of algae that can only be removed with difficulty from the water.
Thread algae colonize generally also directly on surfaces and walls as well as on loose sediment and rocks as well as on technical devices such as filters pumps, pipes, aeration devices etc. so that impairments are also caused thereon.
The causes for algae growth are often a surplus of nutrients and light. In the prior art it is known as a measure for combating this to add fast-growing plants to the aquarium or the garden pond in order to take away the nutrient source from the thread algae. However, until such a measure shows an effect, several weeks can pass and an algae-free aquarium or garden pond is not obtained. As a further fast reducing measure a change of the water is recommended. This measure is also in many cases not practicable. The same holds true for reducing the light; this is possible for aquariums but not for a garden pond.
An ecologically innocuous agent for destroying thread algae is sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate, also known as sodium percarbonate. Further fast acting and effective agents are chemical algicides that contain active ingredients such as terbutryn, monolinuron, zinc and copper salts. None of the known preparations has a selective effect on thread algae. By using such algicides, at the same time the water quality is worsened and the growth of plants reduced so that in some cases plants can be completely killed off.
A disadvantage of sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate is its minimal stability, its sensitivity relative to water and heat. Upon extended or improper storage, the substances can decompose so that they can no longer develop their actual action. Because of the minimal stability and the oxidizing effect the substance is subject to transport, storage, and commercial regulations.
As a whole, alkali carbonate peroxyhydrates are ecologically well tolerated substances that can be employed advantageously in water processing and also for combating pathogenic germs in aquaculture, in aquarium water and garden ponds etc. It is disadvantageous that, as a result of their hazard potential, they can be transported and stored only under strict safety regulations and that commercial trade is limited.
European patent application EP 0 968 136 discloses the use of alkali percarbonate peroxyhydrates in fish farming. This document discloses the use of these substances for oxygen-delivering, neutralizing, and degerming processing of waters in freshwater as well as saltwater installations, natural bodies of water etc. According to this document the alkali carbonate peroxyhydrates provide in particular a degerming action.
The present invention thus has the goal to provide a composition that enables safe transport and long-term storage without having the oxidizing risk potential of alkali carbonate peroxyhydrates.